Saitek Eclipse Keyboard - Saitek Eclipse Keyboard

Two are for volume up and down and one is for mute. The fourth switch, lowers the backlight to a dimmer setting, so you can enjoy the cool blue effect in a brighter lit room. Alternatively, a further press turns the backlight off altogether, turning the Eclipse into a normal, but smart keyboard. My only wish is that the default backlight setting was actually off – instead when you boot your PC the backlight is on, so that in most situations I find myself having to press the button twice to turn it off. This is necessary as in normal lighting conditions the backlight actually makes the keys hard to see.

I’m pleased to report though that as a regular keyboard the Eclipse is really very fine. This is good as though as a USB keyboard it’s easy to plug and unplug it at will, you don’t want the hassle of having to use one keyboard for regular stuff and another for games, unless of course, you really want to.

The keys feel nice to the touch with a good responsive action and I was able to type comfortably. If I were to nit-pick I would say that the keys are a touch looser than they should be. Comfort is aided by two stands that enable you to prop the keyboard up, or if down, make the keyboard lie flat on the desk. In fact the top of the keyboard appears to taper downwards in this position though that could just be my eyes deceiving me.

Verdict

Pleasingly though, Saitek isn’t charging a fortune and CCL Online, who kindly sent this sample for review are offering it for only £33.10. So simply then, this makes the Eclipse my favourite keyboard I've yet used, as a fixture on my home PC. It’s comfortable to type on, it’s smart, it’s affordable and it glows in the dark! What more could you want?